HOW OUR LIFESTYLES HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS

[nctarheel]

Our culture is more inclusive than it once was.

I find that to be refreshing.

I was thinking the other day about the cartoons that I watched as a kid and young adult.

Many of the characters would be frowned upon today as they made fun of different parts of our society.

Examples include:

(1) Speedy Gonzales

(2) Fat Albert

(3) Mr. Magoo

(4) Hong Kong Phooey

Maybe we have made some progress in spite of ourselves.

[EricC227821]

This is a fascinating topic in part because it can be very difficult to quantify whether or not progress has actually been made.  The hatred is a twisted reexpression of elitism and is so deeply imbedded in the culture that it is passed on at the family unit level and from a very young age.  Hate mongers (like elitists) keep repackaging their message in ways that facilitate plausible deniability for their actions.  There is a broader matter at stake.

The recent hooplah over Whoopi Goldberg and the show The View put a point on it.  The following is the summary paragraph of a letter to ABC:

These are some thoughts offered by a worn out old person who is, for the most part, too tired to pay attention to tiffs like this. The irony of this chain of knee-jerk reactions was just enough not to ignore. Nobody was denying The Holocaust happened and everybody was in agreement that it is one of many truly horrific blemishes on the record of human history. The concerned parties were simply picking nits over the minutia of what makes it such a glaring example of Man's Inhumanity To Man. No disrespect intended to anybody, but this kind of divisiveness (whether in the name of accuracy, honesty, pride, or any other important sounding rationalization) is a symptom of, and one of the antisocial feedback loops that keep us stuck in the same antisocial rut, and digging deeper with every go-round.

What would be hopeful would be seeing all the anti-injustice organizations mindfully and humbly acknowledge that, as important as their individual causes are, they are each a symptom of a core sickness (Sickness is a Mental Health issue, Illnes is a biological issue like COVID etc.).  Maybe then they could unite and we could start making some real, measurable socio-cultural progress.

[nctarheel]

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@EricC227821 wrote:

The recent hooplah over Whoopi Goldberg and the show The View put a point on it. 

Nobody was denying The Holocaust happened and everybody was in agreement that it is one of many truly horrific blemishes on the record of human history.

The concerned parties were simply picking nits over the minutia of what makes it such a glaring example of Man's Inhumanity To Man.

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Actually, I disagree.

The hoopla was about Whoopi's lack of knowledge of the Holocaust's origins.

It boiled down to her believing that JEWS are White, and that the Nazis were White and therefore the Holocaust was NOT racial in nature.

The truth is that the Nazis designated themselves as a superior race and designated JEWS as an inferior race, thus The Holocaust was racial in nature.

To lump The Holocaust into an "INDIVIDUAL CAUSE" category is certainly misplaced.

[EricC227821]

Again...picking nits over minutia...Because the culture was tolerant (even accepting) of antisocial, divisive values and conduct, the social environment would have also been dangerous for Ellen DeGeneres, RuPaul and Charlie Chaplan.  And was a contributing factor to the fame of Jesse Owens.  On top of all that there are documented cases of jewish men hiding their heritage and surviving the war serving in the german military.

It would be encouraging to see organizations that are supposed to be mitigating socio-cultural injustice born of ignorance, hate and division cooperating to address the root cause with a coordinated effort rather than making a fuss over somebody's public gaff.  It has become so common to feign offense that it just seems to be a time wasting diversion.

[GailL1]

Think so?.  Now, I guess, it doesn't have to be in the form of some cartoon.

I do understand what you mean but at the time did you really even think about them in any adverse way?  

[nctarheel]

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@GailL1 wrote:

I do understand what you mean but at the time did you really even think about them in any adverse way?  

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@GailL1,

The point has nothing to do with whether I thought about them in any adverse way at the time.

Those cartoons ingrained the tropes of the lazy Hispanic, the fat jolly Black, the near sighted bumbling old man, and the incompetent, clumsy Asian in our young minds.

These characters reflected the ethnic and racial prejudices of the time.

Recognizing that they did what they did is the small progress I mentioned in my original post.

[GailL1]

Have you watched SNL recently?

[EricC227821]

Most recent episode watched was hosted by Willem DaFoe.  Opening was engaging, Badminster Dog Show, Spoof Nugenics Commercial and Weekend Update were funnier than the Angry Birds Geico commercial.  The skit with 10 year old Conner was reminiscent of a Kids In The Hall sketch, didn't get the mushroom theme in the musical numbers, but was impressed by how well the dancers moved in those costumes in the first one.

[nctarheel]

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@GailL1 wrote:

Have you watched SNL recently?

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What does SNL have to do with the point of this discussion?

Clearly, SNL has always been a satire of society as it was in the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, 2010's and now the 2020's.

The point of my original post was how elements of our society were depicted years ago.

Those depictions weren't satire.

[GailL1]

What do you think "Fat Albert" was about? A kid and his friends and the antics they got into - so what if Albert was a little on the heavy side - kids come in all different sizes.  The character still played sports and was active with his friends and they didn't seem to think of him as different.  Who created it, you know, right?  BTW, in 2004, there was even a movie - starting Kenan Thompson.

Speedy Gonzalas would be, by pretty much any measure, a hero - a smart one at that, outwitting that ole Cat.  As my granddaughter would say today "He saved the day".  Several hit songs were also based on the character.

Mr. Magoo - yes, he was small, old, rich and near-sighted.  He got into some real messes for not wearing his glasses - not too much different than some people I know today - including me, except I am not exactly "wealthy".  

Hong Kong Phooey - again another superhero, a dog that uses Chinese martial arts to fight crime - thus the name.  He saved the day too.

I fail to see why any of these creation characters would be frowned upon today or any day.  In fact, they would be my preference over some of the animated shows out today.

Perhaps it is all in what one brings to the viewing in heart and mind.

[WebWiseWoman]

You know I so appreciate your posts, but think @GailL1 has noted a valid point.

I grew up in a (at that time) middle-class neighborhood, with neighbors of all ethnicities (step-dad was Italian; we were white trash; one neighbor was black; one neighbor was white). We all shared grief during my 10th b-day as JFK was lost.

The best employee and most trusted friend of my dad was black. I swear to you we never knew there was a race/heritage issue until Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Then my dad and his black friend came to school and removed us, as they felt ugliness was coming.

Now, I feel we're experiencing the same and it is so painful that we fought so hard but obviously lost.

None of our "American Experiences" can/has been the same, but I hope we can recognize and understand the differences and eventually we'll move on as AMERICA, not separate but whole...

Thanks, nctarheel

#StaySafe

[nctarheel]

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@WebWiseWoman wrote:

I swear to you we never knew there was a race/heritage issue until Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

Now, I feel we're experiencing the same and it is so painful that we fought so hard but obviously lost.

None of our "American Experiences" can/has been the same, but I hope we can recognize and understand the differences and eventually we'll move on as AMERICA, not separate but whole...

Thanks, nctarheel

#StaySafe

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As you know, I respect your experiences as a youth, and I try to believe that you knew NO race/heritage issue but that experience was not reality for most people.

I grew up Jewish in a small southern town. There were 10 Jewish families total. Intimidation need not be overt.

Take the town's July 4th parade.

Of course, there was the requisite high school bands, then the convertible's..... one with the mayor and his family, one with the police chief and his family, one with the local beauty queen, and one with THE GRAND DRAGON OF THE KU KLUX KLAN and his family.

Needless to say, the intimidation was palpable.

That same intimidation still exists today.